In nature there are no perfect creatures. None. Every living thing has weaknesses. The smart ones do not cry about it, they find a way to compensate.
They do not try to fix everything. They make one thing so strong that it hides the weak spots.
Humans
- People who are deaf often notice details others completely miss.. small movements, vibrations, changes in someone’s face.
- People who are blind may have hearing so sharp they can recognize a friend just by footsteps.
- People with limited mobility often become masters of thinking, planning and problem solving. Sometimes faster than those who can run.
Animals
- Owls? Terrible at seeing colors (they will not notice your new red dress), but can spot a mouse in the dark from 100 meters away.
- Cactuses? No rain for months? No problem, they store it to be OKEY.
- Salmon? They change their bodies so they can live in both rivers and the ocean.
- Snakes? They have very bad eyesight, but they “see” the heat from other animals.
Nature itself
- Rivers do not fight mountains. They just go around. If only some managers learned that.
- Some plants grow only after a fire. A little destruction to get things moving.
- Alpine flowers stay small and close to the ground, seems like hiding from the wind.
The point? Nature does not waste time fixing every weakness. It builds strengths so powerful that weaknesses do not matter anymore.
Organizations are the same.
A company is like a living organism. It has “organs” (departments), “nerves” (communication), an “immune system” (policies and rules) and a survival instinct (usually the finance team😊).
And like in nature, every organization has its own compensatory mechanism – one big strength that hides the weak points and keeps the company alive.
When I come to a company as a consultant, my first question is not: What’s wrong here?
It is: What allows you to survive, grow and win?
Examples:
- A small company with no advertising budget but clients so loyal they could write love letters.
- A startup with no sales team but ideas that arrive faster than the coffee machine can work.
- A large corporation that moves slowly but has a reputation so strong, even mistakes bounce off.
- A team with no clear processes but reactive in informal problem solving.
Two things to emphasize:
- Protect it, because if it breaks then the company is in trouble.
- Use it, because it can become the main driver of growth
Quick test
Ask yourself: “If we lost this one strength tomorrow would we grow?”
If the answer is “no” – congratulations, you have found your growth superpower.
Nature needed millions of years to create these mechanisms. You can do it faster, ideally before your office plants start storing water for you.
So… do you know your organization’s compensatory mechanism? Do you rely on it?
